Service
Gearbox repair, shaft manufacture and CNC machining
Conveyor and drive gearboxes stripped, assessed and rebuilt with shafts, bushes and machined components manufactured in our Benoni South engineering workshop under a 15-ton overhead crane.
A failed conveyor gearbox stops the belt, and a replacement unit can take months to arrive. Umbusso Engineers repairs industrial gearboxes in our own engineering workshop: the unit is stripped, every component is measured and assessed against the drawing, and worn or failed items are repaired, re-machined or manufactured new — output shafts, bushes, sleeves and housings — before the gearbox is rebuilt and returned to site.
Our first Eskom generation work, in December 2017, was the repair of two main coal conveyor gearboxes at an Eskom power station for the main contractor, including material treatment and the manufacture of a new output shaft and bush to drawing. Since 2023 the work has been carried out in our leased engineering workshop at 31 Lincoln Road, Benoni South, which is equipped with a 15-ton overhead crane and Umbusso-owned CNC machines.
What we do
- Strip, clean, inspect and report on conveyor, mill and auxiliary-drive gearboxes.
- Manufacture of output and input shafts, bushes, sleeves and spacers to drawing, with material treatment as specified.
- CNC turning and milling of machined spares and replacement components.
- Bearing, seal and gear replacement; reassembly, backlash and contact-pattern checks.
- Housing repair, including machining of bearing housings and mating faces.
Standards, quality and documentation
Each repair is scoped from a strip-and-assess report issued to the client before pricing the rebuild. Material certificates for new shafts and bushes are retained, heat treatment is documented, and dimensional inspection records accompany the rebuilt unit. Work on Eskom orders runs under a quality control plan with client hold points.
Where this service applies on the plant
Explore the representative plant environment in the Umbusso Industrial World to see the equipment this service covers.
Proof: work delivered on purchase order
Each project record states the client, the order or contract reference, the scope and the quality documentation it ran under. Contract values are available to prospective clients on request.
Conveyor gearbox repairs
Repair of two main coal conveyor gearboxes, including the manufacture of a new output shaft to drawing.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (via the main contractor) · 2017
Read the project record →Conveyor pulley manufacture
Eighteen conveyor pulleys manufactured to Eskom drawing under a quality control plan counter-signed by Eskom Quality Assurance before manufacture began, together with bearings, pillow blocks, idler frames and drive components.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd · 2024–2025
Read the project record →From the workshop and site
How an order runs
Send the drawing, scope or problem. We reply with questions or a site-visit date.
We confirm the scope, access, outage window and your quality and safety requirements.
Priced quotation with a quality control plan outline so the hold points are agreed before award.
Work under permit-to-work and the agreed plan, with witnessed hold points and progress reporting.
Inspection records, certificates and material traceability compiled into the data book and handed over.
Frequently asked
Do you repair on site or in your workshop?
Gearboxes are removed and transported to our Benoni South workshop where the 15-ton crane, CNC machines and assembly bench are. Removal and reinstallation can be included in the scope, with rigging by our lifting team.
Can you manufacture a shaft if no drawing exists?
Yes. We reverse-engineer from the failed shaft and the mating components, issue a manufacturing drawing for your approval, and manufacture with the specified material and treatment.
What do we receive when the gearbox comes back?
A rebuilt unit with a strip report, the list of replaced components, material certificates for manufactured items, and inspection records — the same data book format we use on Eskom orders.
Technical articles on this equipment
Written and reviewed in-house. What fails, why it fails, what the standards require and how to specify the repair.
Output-shaft and bush failure on main conveyor drives: repair, shaft manufacture and re-commissioning
When the output shaft of a main conveyor gearbox fails, the plant loses a belt and often waits months for an OEM unit. This article explains why output shafts and bushes fail, how to assess a stripped gearbox, and how a new shaft is manufactured and the unit re-commissioned.
Reviewed by the Operations Manager · September 2026
Read the article →Related services
Request a quotation
Send us the drawing, the scope or the problem. We reply with questions, a site-visit date or a priced quotation — whichever gets you an answer fastest.
Office +27 17 007 0135 · WhatsApp +27 72 535 1598 · info@umbussoengineers.co.za
